Rotary cutter with variable spacing means



y 1953 o. MULLER 2,637,395

ROTARY CUTTER WITH VARIABLE SPACING MEANS Filed Sept. 17-, 1949 3Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR. OTT O MULLER AT TORNEY y 1953 o. MULLER2,637,395

ROTARY CUTTER WITH VARIABLE SPACING MEANS Filed Sept. 17, 1949 sSheets-Sheet 2 INVEN TOR. OTTO MULLER ATTORNEY y 1953 o. MULLER2,637,395

ROTARY CUTTER WITH VARIABLE SPACING MEANS Filed Sept. 17, 1949 3Sheets-Sheet 3 INVEN OTTO MULL.

ATTORNEY Patented May 5, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROTARY CUTTERWITH VARIABLE SPAGIN'G MEANS 4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to rotary cutters with variable spacing means forslitting cloth materials and has particular reference to the provisionof a device of this nature which is simple and durable in constructionand extremely positive efficient in function.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide simple,adjustable means for slitting cloth materials whereby groups of stripsof different desired widths may be simultaneously formed.

Another object is to provide a device of the above nature whereby thematerial to be slit will be guided and controlled in. its path ofmovement during the slitting operation.

Another object is to provide a device of the above character with foryieldingly holding the slitting means in engagement with the means overwhich the material is guided during the slitting operation.

Another object is to provide a plurality of cutting members, and aplurality of spacing members of different controlled widths selectivelymovable in groups into cooperative relation with the cutting memberswhereby the spaced relation of. said members may be varied according tothe width ofv strips desired. 7

Another object is to provide a device of the above nature wherein groupsof slitting means of different desired characteristics may beselectively used, with one group of said slitting means embodying theuse of conventional safety razor blades.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings and it will be apparent that many changes may be made in thedetails of construction and arrangement of parts shown and describedwithout departing from the spirit of the invention as expressed in theaccompanying claims. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to theexact details of construction and arrangement of parts shown anddescribed as the preferred forms only have been given only by way ofillustration.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the device embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is an end elevational view of said device;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of said device;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view illustrating the, function of the cutterspacing means;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken as on. line 5.-5 of Fig. 3;

- tion of movement of the cloth i3.

Fig. 6- is a fragmentary side elevational view of a modified form of theinvention; and I Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken a on linel''i of Fig. 6.

The invention is directed particularly to the provision of a device forslitting cloth material to form strips of said material for use in thefabrication of hook rugs and the like and is directed particularly tothe provision of means for slitting said material simultaneously into aplurality of strips of controlled widths. in a simple, efficient andpositive manner.

Referring to the drawings wherein like charactors of reference designatelike parts throughout the several views, the device embodying theinvention, as shown in Figures 1 through 5, comprises a base 8 having anupright 9 adjacent the rear end thereof to which a head iii is pivotallyconnected by a pivot bolt 01' the like i i.

The base 8 has cloth spreading means !2 thereon over which the cloth itto be slitted is drawn. The spreading means it has a plurality ofgrooves Hi formed in the effective surface thereof and in divergentrelation with each other in the direc- This causes the cloth tospreadprior to its reaching the slitting means 15.

The slitting means [5, in this instance, comprises a plurality of rolltype cutters mounted on a shaft 15 carried by the bifurcated portions llof the head H].

The cutter members it are in the form of discs having sharp cuttingedges iii. The discs are slidably keyed to the shaft if; by a key l9which fits within a longitudinal slot 2! formed in the shaft and whichcauses the cutters to rotate as a single unit when the shaft is rotated.The keying of the cutter members to the shaft It permits the cutters tobe moved longitudinally of the shaft whereby they may be positioned indifferent spaced relations with each other. This is accomplished bymoving one of a plurality of different groups of. spacer members 2 I ofdifferent given thicknesses between the respective cutters IS. Thecutters E5 are mounted on the shaft it between bearing members 22 and 23having ball races therein for permitting free rotary movement of saidcutters. The bearing 22' is free to slide on the shaft i6 and is urgedby the coil spring 24 toward the cutters. The coil spring 24,functioning cooperatively with the bearing 22, resiliently retains thecutter members it in intimate side surface engagement" with therespective 5d s acer members 2 I and thereby supports the cutters incontrolled spaced relation with each other while permitting free rotarymovement thereof.

The spacer members 2| are formed in three groups of different widths,see Fig. 1, and are slidably keyed to a shaft 25 by key members 26fitting within a longitudinal slot 2'! formed in the shaft. The shaft isrotatably carried by a bifurcated arm 28 and thereby permits thedifferent groups of spacer members to be rotated into position of use.

The arm 28 is pivotally connected at 29 to the head l and is adapted tobe raised to disassociate one group of spacer members from the cuttersand to permit another selected group to be moved into operative relationtherewith. The ends of the spacer members are each provided with asemi-circular recess 30 of a size to closely fit over the shaft U8. Theends of said spacer members are further provided with bevelled edges 3|so as to introduce a wedging action when moved downwardly intoengagement with the cutters to cause said cutters to spread and receivethe spacer members therebetween under the yielding action of the coilspring 24. This allows any selected group of spacer members to be usedaccording to the width of strips to be cut.

The arm 28 is provided with a projection 32 adapted to engage a bladespring 33 which, when the arm is raised to a position such as shown inFig. 5, will hold said arm in said position and when the arm is moveddownwardly to position the spacer members 2| between the cutters willresiliently retain said spacer members in said latter position. Thisresults from moving the projection 32 from one side to the other of avertical line intersecting the center of the shaft 29. The blade spring33 is attached to the head it by screws or the like 3 3.

The head iElis provided with a handle 35 whereby it may be manuallyraised or lowered with respect to the base 8 about its pivot l i.

The cutters I are adapted to be moved downwardly into engagement with aroller or drum 3'6 keyed to a shaft 31. The shaft 3'! is rotatablysupported in bearings 38 formed in the base 8 and is adapted to berotated by a crank 33. The roller or drum 35 may be made of any desiredsoft metal, plastic, fibre or other suitable material and is adapted todraw the material [3 to be slit beneath the cutters while the saidcutters are resiliently held in engagement with the roller or drum. Thisis brought about through the provision of a member 50 pivotallyconnected at 4| to the base 8 and having a latch 32 carried thereby. Thelatch is adapted to engage a shelf #3 formed on the side of the handle35 and has a portion M fitting the telescoped relation with the member4i} and constantly urged in a direction inwardly of said member 40 by acoil spring 45. The coil spring engages a pin 36 carried by the portion44 and which lies within a longitudinal slot 4'! formed in the side ofthe member 40.

The latch :32 is provided with a finger grip 38 which may be engaged bythe operator to engage or disengage the latch and shelf.

In operation, the device functions substantially as follows:

The base 3 is first clamped to a table top or the like by a clamp member49, as shown best in Fig. 5.

The desired group of spacer members 2| is then moved downwardly to aposition between the respective cutters [5 to retain said cutters indesired spaced relation with each other under the compressing action ofthe coil spring 24.

The handle 35 is then gripped by the operator and moved to a raisedposition.

The cloth material 13 to be slitted is placed on the top of the base 8in overlying relation with the cloth spreading means l2 and roller ordrum 38, see Fig. 1.

The cutters l5 are then moved downwardly into engagement with the clothmaterial and with the roller or drum 36 and are resiliently held inengagement with said drum by lifting the latch member 42 into overlyingrelation with the shelf 43 against the action of the coil spring 45.

The slitting is accomplished by rotating the roller or drum 36 byturning the handle 39. This causes the material to be advanced betweenthe cutters and the roller or drum and to be simultaneously slit by thesharp edges l8 of said cutters which penetrate the material during saidadvancing movement. This causes a plurality of strips of controlledwidth to be simultaneously formed, with the width of strips controlledaccording to the thickness of the spacer members 2] selected.

To aid in controlling the path of movement of the cloth relative to theroller or drum, the head i0 is provided with a guide bar or roller 49awhich engages the top of the cloth as it is drawn over the drum.

In Figures 6 and '7, there is illustrated a slight modification of theinvention wherein, instead of using a plurality of disc type cutters, ahead 50 is shown having a plurality of safety razor blades 5! detachablysupported thereby.

The head, similar to the head H), has an end portion, not shown, adaptedto be pivotally connected at II to the base 8. The head 50 is providedwith spaced bars 52 and a central bolt-like member 53 of a diametersimilar to the diameter of the bars 52 and adapted to fit snugly withinthe spaced openings which exist in conventional safety razor blades. Therazor blades 5| are supported between spacer members 54 of differentcontrolled thicknesses simulating the spacer members 2| and may beformed of metal, fibre or plastic or any other desired material. Thespacer members 54 are provided with three spaced recesses 5'5 extendinginwardly of one side thereof and which are shaped to straddle therespective bars 52 and bolt-like member 53 between the blades 5!. Thespacer members are of a size to extend beyond the contour edges of theblades throughout the sides and upper edges thereof to function as meansfor shielding the edges of the blades, as shown best in Fig. 6. v

The base 8, in this instance, is provided with a contact plate 58 ofsoft metal, plastic or other suitable material with which the cuttingedges of the blades 5| engage.

The blades 5!, when in engagement with the plate 56, are disposed at anangle thereto, as shown in Fig. 6, and the cloth material to be slitteclis manually drawn between the angled portions of the blades and plate tocause the engaging ends of the blades to perform the slitting operationor the cloth may be engaged with a barbed roller 60 pivotally carried bya bracket 6| on the base and which may be rotated by the crank 62 todraw the cloth through the blades.

The head 50 is designed to be interchangeably used instead of the headit] on the base 8.

The head 58 is provided with a handle 51 having a shelf 58 thereon,simulating shield 43, and adapted to be engaged by the latch member 42,as described above, to resiliently-hold the blade members 5| inengagement with the plate 55.

If desired, the roller or drum 36 may be used instead of plate 56 toafford greater ease in manually drawing the cloth material through theblades 5|.

The blades and spacer members are held in clamped engaged relation witheach other by a hand nut or the like 59 threadedly connected with thebolt-like member 53.

All that is required when interchanging spacer members is to loosen thehand nut 59 an amount sufficient to permit the spacer members 54 to belifted out from between the blade members and to be replaced by a groupof other spacer members of different desired thicknesses. The hand nutis again tightened an amount sufficient to clamp and hold the blades andspacer members in intimate contact with each other. The cutting edges ofthe blades can be shifted around as desired or the blades may becompletely replaced by removing the hand nut and replacing the sameafter the shifting or replacing has been completed.

The operation of the latter device is similar to the first with theexception that the cloth material is initially positioned in the deviceso as to protrude sufficiently forwardly of the cutters so that it maybe grasped and manually drawn through the cutters.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that simple, efficientand economical means have 1 been provided for accomplishing all of theobjects and advantages of the invention.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A device of the character described comprising a base having asupporting surface thereon, cloth spreading means adjacent one end ofsaid base and a contact member rotatably supported adjacent its oppositeend and having an effective surface protruding slightly above thesupporting surface of said base, said base having a pivot supportadjacent the end thereof opposite the contact member, a head pivotallyconnected to said pivot support, said head having a plurality ofdisc-like cutter members mounted thereon in axial relation with eachother and movable along said axis to different spaced relations witheach other, a member pivotally connected to said head, said memberhaving a plurality of different groups of spacer members of differentcontrolled thicknesses rotatably carried thereby and selectively movableto a position intermediate said respective cutter members forcontrolling the spaced relation of said cutter members and means foryieldingly urging said cutter members into engagement with the contactmember.

2. A device of the character described comprising abase having asupporting surface thereon, cloth spreading means on said surfaceadjacent one end of said base, said base having a pivot support adjacentsaid cloth spreading means and having an opening in the supportingsurface thereof adjacent its end opposite the cloth spreading means, acylindrical-shaped contact member rotatably connected with said base andhaving its effective surface extending through the opening in said base,means for rotating said cylindrical-shaped contact memher, a headpivotally connected to said pivot support, said head having a rotatablestub shaft connected thereto in overlying relation with and extending ina direction longitudinally of the cylindrical-shaped contact member andhaving a longitudinal slot therein, a plurality of cutter members keyedto said shaft and being adjustable with respect to each other in adirection longitudinally of said shaft, a member pivotally connected tosaid head having a plurality of groups of spacer members of varyingthicknesses rotatably carried thereby and selectively movable intospaced relation with the respective cutters, means for yieldingly urgingsaid cutters and said spacer members into relatively intimate sidesurface relation with each other for retaining said cutter members ingiven spaced relation, and means for yieldingly urging said cuttermembers into engagement with the contact member.

3. A device of the character described comprising a base having a pivotsupport adjacent one end thereof and a contact member rotatablysupported adjacent its opposite end, ahead having a plurality of cuttermembers rotatably supported thereon and movable to varying spacedrelation with each other, said head being pivotally connected to saidpivot support, means for positioning and supporting said cutter membersin given spaced relation with each other, said means comprising an armpivotally connected to said head and having a plurality of differentsized spacer members rotatably attached adjacent the free end of saidarm for selective positioning between said cutter members, means forretaining said cutter members and spacer members in operable relationwith each other, and means for resiliently urging said cutter membersinto engagement with the contact member.

4. A device of the character described comprising a base having a pivotsupport adjacent one end thereof and a contact member supported adjacentits opposite end, cloth spreading means on said base below the pivotsupport, a head having a plurality of cutter members rotatably supportedthereon and movable to varying spaced relation with each other, saidhead being pivotally connected to said pivot support, means forretaining said cutter members in given spaced relation with each other,said means comprising an arm pivotally connected to said head and havinga plurality of different sized spacer members rotatably attachedadjacent the free end of said arm for selective positioning between saidcutter members, means for retaining said cutter members and spacermembers in operable relation with each other, and means for resilientlyurging said cutter members into engagement with the contact member.

OTTO MULLER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 385,201 Remus June 26, 1888 1,695,715 Merrick Dec. 18, 19282,199,648 Parkhurst May '7, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date10,489 Great Britain Aug. 16, 1886 560,550 Great Britain Apr. 7, 1944

